Green Energy Technologies LLC, Ohio's only OEM wind turbine manufacturer, unveiled the first commercially installed WindCube on July 6th. It is in service on the roof of the new Crown Battery Renewable Energy Center in Port Clinton's Lake Erie Business Park.
At winds of 14 mph it is estimated that the 60kW WindCube will generate approximately 150,000 kilowatt hours of power annually. The installation will be the first commercial rooftop wind turbine in Ohio to provide on-site supplemental power generation using net metering.
Hal Hawk, president of Crown Battery, said the companys new facility will use renewable energy in the formation charging of batteries -- the last step in the manufacturing process -- as well as develop new technologies for energy storage markets around the world.
"To better position the WindCube as a visible example of renewable energy, we've mounted a large LED screen on the building," said Hawk. "Youll be able to see a display of real time data associated with the project, including wind speed, kilowatts of energy being generated by the WindCube at any given moment and cumulatively and total carbon reduction."
Green Energy Technologies, based in Akron, Ohio, introduced the WindCube at the Windpower 2009 Conference & Exhibition in Chicago in May. By capturing and amplifying the wind, the WindCube fills a previously unmet need for turbines that can be placed into service in a small footprint, producing the same amount of energy as a traditional turbine (50 foot in diameter) in a 22x22x12-foot frame. Because of the amplification effect, the WindCube is able to capture wind energy as low as 5 mph.
"On-site generation is the future of wind energy, and the interest in this product has been phenomenal," said Mark Cironi, president of Green Energy Technologies.
